Affordable wines for festive dinners

There's enough hustle, bustle, stress and nonsense involved with the whole family holiday feasting fandango without having to get too overly concerned about what should be in your wineglass.

Serve the wines you like, priced at what you can comfortably afford. It doesn't matter if it that's red or white wine - or even beer or cider, for that matter. Doesn't matter if it's fowl or fish or pork or beef. If it's what you like, then it's the best choice for your festive table.

If you'd prefer a red wine, remember that ham and turkey (...as well as chicken, Cornish hens and quail) can be overpowered by heavier, more full-bodied wines. There are numerous inexpensive and affordable reds around - many on the lighter side. And in these days of threatening recession and plunging stock markets, keeping wine affordable never hurts.

Not quite dry - "Sweetness Code - 01" - Franciscan California Burgundy (+241778) and Franciscan California Chablis (+241794) both at $6.99 are as much about everday easy sipping as they are about affordability. Light and supple, these are both wines that could even be slightly chilled.

Also from California and just as affordable Gray Fox Cabernet Sauvignon (+62315), Gray Fox Chardonnay (+43885), Gray Fox Merlot (+43901) and Gray Fox Shiraz (+197053) are all priced at $6.99 this month. Don't be afraid to chill any of these for an hour, either...

IGT is Italian for "Indicazione Geografica Tipica" and roughly translates as "the kind of wine we usually make in these parts" - but doesn't it seem official and somehow reassuring? Although it is sporting a snazzy new label, Benvenuto Barbera di Beneventano IGT (+34173) $7.99 has the same light plum and liquorice undertones supporting ripe dark cherries in a straightforward dinner-table style that it had before.

A "domestic" contender -it's difficult to know where the wine actually comes from, despite being marketed as being made in Canada - Nero (+572909) $7.49 is a lighter-bodied red with relatively boisterous berry fruit flavours that make it seem sweeter than its "Sweeteness Code - 00" shelf tag. The "matching" white Sola (+572883) $7.49 is even easier to like.

As a loose rule of thumb, any red under $10 that doesn't come from South America or the south of France's sun-baked Languedoc-Rousillon area will tend to be lighter-bodied, including many "domestic" wines made from imported Merlot, Cabernet or Shiraz. However, the classic "light red wines" are Beaujolais - from southern Burgundy in France made from Gamay grapes; Valpolicella - a Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara blend from Italy's north-eastern Veneto; and almost any Pinot Noir under $20.

Georges Duboeuf is known in France as "The King of Beaujolais" and his Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages (+275735) $17.49 has typically bright candied cherry flavours. Grown here in BC Sandhill VQA Gamay Noir (+627687) $19.99 shows what Beaujolais could be ... if it was made consistently with perfectly ripe and finest quality Gamay grapes.

From Italy's Veneto Bolla Valpolicella Classico (+16840) $12.99 offers ripe plummy flavours that have a subtle twist of peppery star anise in an almost medium-bodied and very food-friendly style. An Italian restaurant favourite MASI Valpolicella Classico Superiore (+285585) $16.99 is similarly but more deeply fruited and definitely medium-bodied. Both are excellent choices for any dinner table.

Pinot Noir is a chameleon, changing hugely depending on where it is grown and how the winemaker chooses to make it - price and style usually reflect each other's worth.